Nuci
Nuci, or Nuciferyne which is her full name, is one of the four guardians assigned over the Dark Queens and their secret tombs within the Cities of Eden hidden in the world. Her charge is Aeon the Chronofly, the Dark Queen who is located in Koskaysil. She is an alurane, the ancestors of the more wild fluugher monsters, and are very rare to find in Eden. Appearance Nuci appears as a lovely human woman from the legs up, bearing no clothing over her body while sporting very large breasts and curvy hips to compliment her figure. She has lush, violet colored hair that reaches down all the way to her knees, on the side of her head there is a bright blue flower that serves as a blooming hair accessory, and her pubic hair is also colored purple and fully visible. Her eyes are deep blue with a violet shimmer to them. Below her knees her legs connect to a large flower bud with light purple petals and green vine-like tendrils, some of which have snapper-like mouths that open to pour water onto herself with. The image used in this bio page is a censored version of the character illustration. In the book's official artwork, Nuci is completely exposed. Personality When first met as the guardian of the Chronofly, Nuci appears to be the last one someone would expect for a guardian of a Dark Queen. Extremely kind, caring, and having a tranquil aura around her at all times, Nuci comes off as the most benevolent person on the face of Eden. She speaks in a soft voice while always showing a gentle smile to those who visit her. It's only when pushed into a confrontation that Nuci reveals she's more than just a pretty face, as she's far more powerful than any would first give credit to. However, even when being forced into a fight, she keeps her power under control and never seriously wounds those she's facing, always gently pleading for them to reconsider their choice while making sure not to hurt them too much while following her duty. She even remarks that she made a promise to her mother in that she would never kill others, something she holds dear to her despite her role as a guardian. As an alurane, she's a very talented healer, being able to cure any illness or mend any injury so long as the person isn't dead yet. Her magical reserves are extremely high, boasting power that can even bring Mika Harollson's Maelstrom spell to a stalemate. Her spells can't be countered so easily, her magical barriers are nearly unbreakable, and her flair of using water as kinetic bullets is both beautiful to witness and painful for her foes. Her roots and vines can extend far and wide from where she is, letting her hear, see, and even interact with those who are miles away. She's also able to retreat into her flower bud that then slinks into the ground, allowing her to 'regrow' elsewhere that her roots are connected to. She's both a merciful and kindred spirit in the world, while also being capable of fighting against anyone that tries to release her captive charge. It's unclear if Nuci was ordered to guard over Aeon or not by anyone, only that she chose the duty as she felt she was the best choice for the job. The location of the City of Eden that held Aeon was thought to be lost in the world according to Daemon Warrick, with only the other three Cities of Eden being known by him and presumably the other guardians. How Nuci managed to find it, whether it was sealed before or after the fact, remains unknown. Downfall Her kind and caring demeanor, sadly, only remains until Act XI, when Aeon, who has finally been freed from her prison, tortures Nuci to the point of insanity, changing the alurane into a fearful and slightly unstable servant of the Dark Queen. After this, she goes against her code of never killing anyone, and becomes a serious threat to those who stand against her or her new queen. She even went as far as to kill her dear friends at Aeon's command, and with a smile on her face no less. Development Nuci is first introduced in Act X, when Daemon and Saffron ride an ancient lift that takes them from a cavern within Saffron's nest all the way down to an underground grotto that rests right atop the barrier over the lost City of Eden. There, they find Nuci, who has been guarding Aeon for over a millennia in secret as this was the only City of Eden that had its whereabouts unknown even to the likes of Daemon. It's learned that, although Nuci appears to be an odd choice for a guardian because of her kindhearted nature, she has properly secured the city's existence and has even collected all the Key Fragments to its barrier and safely hidden them. Along with the help of her three friends, the desuwraith sisters Tara, Lara, and Sara, she assures Daemon that Aeon will never be freed. Content with knowing that Nuci has the City of Eden hidden and safely guarded, Daemon commends her for her work and returns back to Saffron's nest as news of her queen being murdered by The Sisterhood reaches them. Later, in Act XI, Mika Harollson, who is being blackmailed by Aeon to come and release her under the threat she'll expose her dark secret to her little brother, travels down to Nuci's grotto and confronts the guardian. After trying and failing to talk her down, Nuci is forced to fight her, to which she easily defeats and subdues Mika with her overwhelmingly stronger magical prowess. Advised by Aeon to exploit Nuci's weakness of never using lethal force against anyone, Mika unleashes her Maelstrom spell, threatening to annihilate both Nuci and herself along with dropping Saffron's nest above them into the aftermath. To stop the disaster, Nuci uses all her power to contain and hold Maelstrom in place, forcing her into a stalemate. With Nuci unable to fight, Mika recovers the Key Fragments that were hidden above in Nuci's roots and assembles the full key, to which she then uses to break the seal over the City of Eden. Aeon is freed and quickly defeats Mika in combat without any effort, using her magic to freeze Nuci in place from interfering before teleporting Mika, Scay, and Tabitha back to Daemon and the others up above in Saffron's nest. After forcing Mika to reveal her shameful secret to everyone, Aeon prepares to murder her before Daemon and his followers try to fight back. Although Mika is able to launch a powerful attack against the chronofly her efforts are in vain, and Aeon wounds Mika before preparing to finish her off. It's then that Nuci manages a surprise attack by suddenly striking her root through Aeon's heart, seeming to kill the chronofly while also breaking Nuci's heart at having been forced to do such a thing. She's later seen mourning over Aeon who rests on a deathbed of flowers made by the alurane, quietly mentioning that Aeon was her mother. However, her mourning doesn't last, as Aeon was actually alive still, and merely stopped time for her body while calculating the new course of events in the timeline to find the best route to her becoming queen of the world. The Dark Queen suspended time upon her revival and, after seeming to return Nuci's feelings of love, reveals her true nature again by murdering Nuci over and over again to break her spirit. After twelve hours of constant torture and dying repeatedly, Nuci is reduced to a hollowed shell of her former self, a fearful servant who now treats Aeon as her new queen. Following Aeon's commands, Nuci proceeds to bury the entrance and ancient lift to the City of Eden before leaving Saffron's nest. She's seen later after having created a cave-in to block an underground convoy train that Saffron and her workers were using to help Daemon and his followers travel to Green Haven with to confront Jovian & Jacqueline, the Gemini. After halting their journey Nuci murders many of the ant girls and destroys their ride, seeming to have lost all her senses while declaring that Aeon is now her queen. Tara, Lara, and Sara attempt to appeal to Nuci and bring her back to them, with Nuci appearing to reach out to them from their words before showing she was in fact too far gone to save. She then, to everyone's surprise, used her magic to attack and fatally strike down the desuwraith sisters in the name of her queen. Trivia * Nuci's name and character are from one of the books' illustrators, who's penname is Nuciferyne and who's avatar is Nuci herself. The start of Act X in which Nuci is first introduced has a dedication page for the illustrator. Artwork Nuci - Alurane (Censored).png Category:Characters Category:Alurane Category:Guardian